My Biggest Life Problem Right Now

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” John 4:16

In the misery of active addiction, I believed I needed God if I wanted my life to change. So, I tried to go to church. I tried to pray. I tried to grow closer to him. For every minute I spent in prayer though, I spent 10 minutes seeking and using the drug. I felt God telling me that I needed to get sober, but I was unwilling to do what it took to get there and so, nothing changed. I sort-of wanted faith and recovery, but my actions revealed that I was far more committed to the drug.

My addiction was a roadblock that prevented me from moving forward. I wanted to avoid dealing with it, but God said, No. This is your biggest life problem. We go no further until we address this. Still, I wouldn’t change, and so, God allowed me to suffer the painful consequences, which was what it eventually took to get me to abandon my addiction.

In today’s passage, Jesus addressed the life problem of a Samaritan woman whom he met at a local well. In speaking with her, he asked her to go get her husband. Jesus knew she’d married multiple men and was now living in an adulterous affair. The woman had relationship issues. Her biggest problem in life – the thing that was causing her the most misery – was her addictive relationship with men. Jesus knew that if she truly wanted to find life in him, she would need to abandon that self-destructive behavior.

Jesus has a way of doing this. When he met the rich young ruler, Jesus called out his self-sufficiency and greed (Matthew 19:21). In dealing with the Pharisees, Jesus pointed out their pride and self-righteousness (Luke 18:14). He often calls out our biggest life problem, demanding that we make a choice.

When we’re struggling with faith, God asks us to address whatever is keeping us from him. As Christians, we must continually abandon the old life to know the new one more and more every day. This isn’t a once-and-done event. Daily, we are to examine our lives, asking what is holding us back. What am I clinging to? What don’t I want to give up to God? That is usually the one thing the he requires of us if we want to live in faith and recovery.